The Virtuous Concubine

Malu leaned on the couch and looked at the box of new armor presented by Bai Xia.

Malu originally didn't want to look at it. After all, she didn't like to do manicures when she was in modern times. She always felt like there was something on her hands.

In ancient times, maids who had been palace maids for so long were not allowed to keep long nails in order to facilitate work. Later... Later, when they had children, they had to take them off to touch the children, and they also had to take them off to embroider, practice calligraphy or play the piano.

He simply asked the Imperial Household Department not to send any gifts, and this also gave Kangxi a good impression of being frugal.

But today, for some unknown reason, the Ministry of Internal Affairs sent another box. Bai Xia took a deep breath after opening it, and mysteriously asked the Empress to take a look, while introducing it vividly: "Look, Empress, there are five items in this box, and each one is a treasure."

A set of golden silk armor, made of pure gold, uses filigree technology to weave and pile up hair-thin gold threads into various exquisite patterns, giving it a full three-dimensional feel. The armor is also dotted with colorful enamel, which can be said to be the finishing touch.

Seeing that the queen only took a glance, Bai Xia knew that this was too ostentatious and the master would not like it.

She picked up another exquisite jade feather and presented it to her master. This was indeed a beautiful piece of jadeite. Although the quality of the jadeite was not top-grade, it was still considered delicate and transparent.

The carving technique is very delicate, and the craftsmen are even more ingenious. They carved exquisite feather textures on the surface of the armor, as if they would flutter with a gentle blow.

The edge is inlaid with a circle of tiny diamonds, which sparkle brightly under the light, contrasting with the green color of the jade, making it even more gorgeous.

But this just made Malu nod and didn't ask any more questions.

Bai Xia was about to introduce another set of Youlan Chalcedony, when Malu asked her with a smile: "What benefits did you receive from the Ministry of Internal Affairs? Why are you introducing these? The Ministry of Internal Affairs also said that they didn't need to give them gifts. What mistakes did they make that they want me to correct them?"

Bai Xia chuckled: "This is..." She took out the set of orchid chalcedony armor and handed it to Malu.

Malu immediately understood that Nalan was secretly slipping something into her's pocket through the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the name of "tribute".

Only then did Malu straighten up and carefully look at the contents of the box.

It is indeed valuable, but it doesn’t look like Nalan’s work. It looks more like something the Nalan family would give as a gift in the name of the family.

Malu gently stroked the exquisite patterns on the armor, with his brows lowered, not knowing what he was thinking.

Finally, she whispered to Bai Xia, "Reward the manager who sent these items for me, and tell her that she doesn't need to do this again in the future."

As he said this, he only took out the set of orchid chalcedony, which was made of the most common material, and placed it on the table, and asked Bai Xia to return the others.

Bai Xia smiled and nodded: "Don't worry, Madam, I will definitely convey your message."

It was also Bai Xia's reminder that Malu called Bai Fu and asked her to start checking the quota items recently sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Sure enough, although Malu used top-grade products in the past, the quality was completely different from what he had used recently.

Malu was amazed by what he saw.

She was still a concubine, the emperor was not in the palace, and there was no change in his favor, but the Nalan family had the ability to make her feel such a clear difference without overstepping their authority.

It can only be said that the Nalan family is worthy of being a family that can support the fight between the eldest prince, the crown prince, and the Hesheli family.

Thinking of this, Malu ordered Bai Xia to bring the child over for her to see.

The child was still sleeping, very deeply. Even though the nurse was walking around, there was no sign of waking up. Malu gently scratched the child's soft cheek with his fingers, and then had someone take the child away.

If one were to say, judging from the child's eyes and eyebrows, he is the most similar to himself among the four children he gave birth to. Only his ears and chin are pointed, which make him look particularly like Nalan, but ordinary people would not associate him with that.

Jingyi also brought her child to see, and he looked quite chivalrous. Fortunately, the lines were soft and not rough.

If the Thirteenth Prince looked like the Tenth Prince, I wonder how Jingyi would feel.

Malu couldn't help imagining that scene, and the corners of his mouth slightly raised. At this time, Bai Fu came in with a letter, saying that there was a letter from the south.

Ma Lu read the letter and nodded: "The emperor has set off to return to the capital."

Naturally, those who also knew the news included the Grand Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager and several other high-ranking concubines.

Because the Empress Dowager was seriously ill and Malu was in confinement after giving birth, the imperial concubine had to handle the arrangements for welcoming the emperor back to the palace alone.

Kangxi scolded Concubine Hui and Concubine Rong in their hearts because the eldest and third princes failed to protect the emperor in Jiangnan, and ordered them to reflect on their mistakes behind closed doors.

Concubine Hui was promoted from a concubine to a noble lady, and then back to a concubine. She had long been accustomed to Kangxi's scolding, so the situation was not bad. She just fasted and chanted Buddhist scriptures every day, cursing the prince in her heart and praying for the health of the eldest prince.

Rong Fei was in tears all day in the palace, and she was worried all day. She had given birth to five sons and one daughter, but this was the only child left - if anything happened to Yinzhi, she would die.

The atmosphere in the palace seemed to change quietly with this news, and the servants began to busily clean the palace and prepare various items.

Malu calculated carefully that Kangxi's return should be around the time when she finished her confinement and Little Fourteen's baby was one month old.

Kangxi had just recovered from an illness and was still weak, so it was unlikely that he would rush back to visit his children.

So she sat down to take care of herself during the confinement period, planning to combine the 13th and 14th full moon celebrations with Jingyi to hold a small one-month celebration.

She didn't plan to make a big deal about Fourteen's affairs.

Unexpectedly, Kangxi sent a letter back in advance, instructing the palace to make sure the full moon celebrations for the 13th and 14th princes were well managed, and to make them lively and grand. He would definitely return to the palace before the full moon to attend the full moon banquet in Yonghe Palace.

The Fourth Prince also wrote a letter on the way. There was nothing special about it, but there was a crease in the corner of the letter that seemed to have been made accidentally.

When Malu saw the pinch mark, he waited until the evening to take out the letter, put it close to the candle, and placed it three inches above the candle. Sure enough, after the back of the letter was heated, yellow words gradually appeared.

This is what Malu taught Yinzhen when he was young. Use milk, lemon juice or starch to write letters. Write gently and the handwriting will disappear.

The protein in milk turns yellow when heated, and the lemon juice turns brown when heated, which can reveal the writing.

Malu read the letter carefully and felt that it was full of strange things.

The Fourth Prince did not say anything big, but just mentioned casually that the Emperor's father came back from Jiangnan this time, bringing with him only a woman named Wang who was presented by Li Xu, the Suzhou weaving manufacturer.

None of the women who had been favored by Kangxi before were brought back. Instead, they were all killed on the spot because they made Kangxi sick.

Malu immediately realized that this was Concubine Mi! The 15th, 16th and 18th princes in the late Kangxi period were all born to her.

It’s just that, just after he had a serious illness in Jiangnan, he started to favor women?

Moreover, the Fourth Prince mentioned this matter by using the method of revealing the truth, but what is there to mention about Kangxi’s favoritism towards women… Even if he ate so many dishes and medicines to reduce internal heat and clear the mind, he would still ask concubines to accompany him from time to time.